POLL: How would you rather be taxed?

[Platinum]

I remember supply and demand curves from economics, oligarchy and monopolies but sadly I was never taught the "common sense" theory as you describe it above

Yeah, its really sad that you never learn about common sense. Without you having it, its kinda hard for me to keep an intellectual conversation here.

On the other hand I view it as an infinite resource which can be created and destroyed by the actions of individuals, businesses, investors, and government.

There we go, another person to say...if we need money, just print out more...therefore, we will have infinite. Ever heard of inflation and how it's cause?

 

[Linflas]

<< There we go, another person to say...if we need money, just print out more...therefore, we will have infinite. Ever heard of inflation and how it's cause? >>


You have got to be kidding me right? The only reason I am bothering to reply to this is because I cannot let that ignorant statement stand.
For the record


<< On the other hand I view it as an infinite resource which can be created and destroyed by the actions of individuals, businesses, investors, and government. At this point rather than respond further I will just assume we disagree and leave it at that. >>


in no way implies that I believe you can just print money. You really need to hit the books a bit my friend.

 

[Platinum]

in no way implies that I believe you can just print money. You really need to hit the books a bit my friend.

Oh yeah, I forgot...you haven't learn common sense. So I'll try to explain this one. You can only get infinite amount of something if continuous input is greater than continuous output. So what logic did you base it on if you don't print more money? Pulling money out of your @ss again??

 

[wyvrn]

<< You aren't rich because you made bad decisions. Anybody can get wealthy if they make better decisions than you did. Actually, you could still become rich if you wanted to. Start by going to college. You just don't want it bad enough.......

>>



Exactly. Btw, the guy I mentioned who was disabled only had his disabilty checks to work with when he started, and he was working out of his sister's home. He couldn't afford his own house either. I don't know much about his situation beyond that, I only talked to him for about half an hour at the sale.



<< You know, all that bs qualifications that you were quoting (i just skip through it), doesn't do crap to support that you have knowledge on the background of rich people. Unless you physically go to every house and ask every rich person, there's NO WAY you could back that statement, so just give up while you still can. <sarcasm>Yeah, I'm a car dealer so my words are god. I have 30 years of exp and if I say all cars are made in the US, then don't believe it when others tell you their car is made in Japan. </sarcasm>
>>



I could say the same thing of you. "Unless you physically go to every house and ask every rich person, there's NO WAY you could back that statement.." I now discredit any statements you make on rich people, using your very own statement.

What is does prove is that I have spent considerable time and effortt learning about money, evidently more than you. You haven't proven that you know anything about rich people, economics, or wealth. Most of your statements are ignorant generalizations, which makes me think you have very little real life experience. At this point, there is no reason to argue with you. I will leave you with a few quotes:

Unintelligent people always look for a scapegoat.
Ernest Bevin

If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them.
Isaac Asimov

The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about.
Wayne Dyer

Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.
Jules Verne

and lastly..

The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance.
Confucius

 

[Platinum]

I could say the same thing of you. "Unless you physically go to every house and ask every rich person, there's NO WAY you could back that statement.." I now discredit any statements you make on rich people, using your very own statement.

I think you might be confusing me with other people. Let's get the facts straight here. You were the one claiming most, if not all, rich people made their way to the because they work harder than everyone else. You were the one claiming you have extensive knowledge on the background of rich people to support that. I simply disagree with you on that I know of quite a few people that are quite the opposite. So your discrediting is useless.

What is does prove is that I have spent considerable time and effortt learning about money, evidently more than you. You haven't proven that you know anything about rich people, economics, or wealth. Most of your statements are ignorant generalizations, which makes me think you have very little real life experience. At this point, there is no reason to argue with you. I will leave you with a few quotes:

You keep stating that you have all these "knowledge and experience" yet you still don't see the big picture. You keep coming up with points with no relevance to the effect of a flat tax on the rest of the population. What good is your years of so call "experience" if you can't even see the simple flaws that I am pointing out??

 

[Rob9874]

<< What color is the god damned sky on your freaking planet???!!!! I can count the number of people I've ever met who make more than 50k a year on 1 hand! MOST people in America earn between 18k and 32k a year. That isn't even 84k if you add two people together! Pull your head out. >>



Pull my head out? Where do you live, South Texas? I didn't mean to say most people will make $84,000 in their career, but it's not unthinkable. Most of the people I graduated with are making over $50,000, just 2 years after graduation, with business degrees. And the engineering grads I know are close to $70,000. And it's not because I work at Intel, as they are often criticized for lower salaries. If you check the entry-level slaries at companies on the Fortune 500, many are in the $60K range (for software engineers). It still may be a small percentage of the total US population, but so are college grads.



<< How much you lose is irrelevant, how much you have left is important. If you're making over 100k after taxes then shut the fvck up. >>



That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard. People have the right to keep what they rightfully earned. Granted, we all have an obligation to pay taxes, but never say that you should be happy with X amount, even if you give the majority of your property to the government. The government does not decide how much money I should be happy wth. I decide that for myself, and work as hard as I need to, to reach that amount.

 

[PrinceofWands]

<< You aren't rich because you made bad decisions. Anybody can get wealthy if they make better decisions than you did. Actually, you could still become rich if you wanted to. Start by going to college. You just don't want it bad enough....... >>




Agreed to a point. I did make some bad choices, but some were beyond my control as well...so let's mark that up 50/50. I have 3 yrs of college. I dropped out of the network admin program because the market was flooded and the area is going under. I can not relocate, so network admin was not going to work any longer. I will go back starting next quarter and put my focus into secondary education, which has been my passion since I was a teenager. However, I will never be rich from being a teacher. In this area starting salary with Masters (now required) is about 32k a year. Top out after 25 years is around 46-50k. That isn't rich, though it is certainly more than I ever imagined myself making, and definately a lot more than I need.

You're correct that I don't want it bad enough. To me money is a lie. It's an illusion. I have no desire to be 'rich'. I just want to know that I have food covered for me and my daughter. That's it, nothing else. I don't want it bad enough to abandon her, my values, or health for it. And I think that is a good thing, not a bad thing.

 

[PrinceofWands]

<< Where do you live, South Texas? I didn't mean to say most people will make $84,000 in their career, but it's not unthinkable. >>



Actually I live in SW Washington. Ok, the way I read your statement it was like an expectation. You'll have to forgive me for snapping, but the same day you posted that a lady and I had a very similar discussion and she DID think everybody in America made over 50k. No way around it, talked to her for over an hour, she still thinks that only a few people in each city make less than that. Totally clueless and it pisses me off. In all seriousness though, even among college grads that salary level is ULTRA-RARE. My father had a masters in electrical engineering, never topped 40k. My brother is the VP of a multistate bank, makes under 40 by a long shot. Teachers in WA are now required to have a Masters degree and they start at about 32k. What you're saying is what I already said; get into the right industry, get lucky, sell yourself, be a company yes man, and you'll make money. Object to that, and you'll be middle class or lower for life.





<< That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard. People have the right to keep what they rightfully earned. >>



*sigh* You're right, of course. I agree...I was pissed and ranting. I apologize and withdraw my statement.

 

[charrison]

PrinceofWands,

You can become wealthy without selling yuor soul or giving up your family. It will not happen overnight and you will have to make the right choices until you retire.

If the economy improved(which it appears to be) and you got a good a job as a network admin making 50k/year...would you still be bitter?

 

[Zebo]

A socially responsible market economy is rooted not simply in the altruistic belief that the strong should help the weak, but in the self-interested conviction that the strong won't survive if too many of the weak fall by the wayside. Our wayside is littered under the current capitalist regime we have. 90M uninsured and lots of unemployment (remember they only count those activly receiving aid) we don't have the high-tech workers here so we import them from India, South East Asia, and europe at these countries expense since they trained them.

I would like no taxes up 100K then it would get very graduated to greatly expand our heathcare and educational system where every american has free access. Wroks in Germany and Sweden.


0-100K 0%
100-250k 25%
250-500K 33%
500-1M 66%
1M+ would get hit for 75%

And don't kid youself about being selfmade. Gates came from the richest family in Seattle you don't think that opened any doors for him? Where I live there are at least 75% are trust fund babies who have never seen a days work ever. They are mid 20's to 30's and never do anything but buy goodies to validate their exsistance. Envy? Perhaps. But remember everyone deserves a chance and some are born with very rich chances like a trust fund and all I would like to see is more people have similar opportunities.


BTW for all you liberal haters out there..How do you explain people like Ted Turner and other billionair who are extremely liberal and active in the democratic party? Are they bumbs or have envy?

 

[Chaotic42]

Allow me to put on my flame retardant suit...

Keep in mind I'm a working class (future) student, not an accountant....

The first thing, before we start worrying about tax brackets and all of that, is to stop wasteful government spending. Everyone knows what I'm talking about. $50,000 here, $750,000 there. It's insane.

Welfare should be cut back. There are jobs out there for *most* people. They won't be fun, you won't be "living it up", but they are there. Fast food jumps to mind. One of my jobs is at McDonalds, and I've worked at a few, and they all need workers.

Government workers need to be cracked down on. Remember the credit cards from a few months ago?


Anyway, once the government cuts itself back to where it belongs (defending, protecting, and helping those who *really* need it), taxes should (I say should because I'm not an accountant, like I said) fall back down into place. I belive the rich should pay a bit more taxes. Not a huge amount. Let's say that if the middle income tax is 17%, the top 33% pay 19%, the bottom 33% pay 15%. These numbers are just for example.

There will always be a bottom of the rung lower class. Someone has to do those jobs that the average Joe doesn't really want to.

The problem is that there is a trend in America (maybe the world, I dunno). People are becoming increasingly whinny and lazy. Why work? Why contribute anything? Why create? You can get paid to do *nothing*. People don't want to work, because it's hard. Those people (no matter what social sector they are in) deserve to be at the absolute bottom, and don't need any help from the American worker.

Social security should be done away with. I can plan my retirment a whole lot better than the government can. Social Security takes a huge chunk out of the worker's paycheck.

Food shouldn't be taxed. Neither should "essentials". Everything else, should have a sales tax.

Military families need more pay. My friend's family was on welfare when his dad was an E-3 in the Air Force. They couldn't afford anything.

Our education system should be reformed as well. Teachers should be paid better, but the quality of teachers is horrible now. New, good teachers need to be hired into good paying jobs. I've heard the argument that teachers get enough money, but there aren't enough good new teachers, so something is up. Maybe it's the threat of being sued for emotional harrasment for failing a cheating student.

Ah well, that's my tax deductale $.02.

By the way, I work between 50 and 80 hours a week, and make about $1500/mo after taxes.

 

[PrinceofWands]

<< If the economy improved(which it appears to be) and you got a good a job as a network admin making 50k/year...would you still be bitter? >>



The bitterness isn't really about not having money, I generally have enough (if just barely). The bitterness is in peoples 'attitudes' about money. The bitterness is an emotional and mental thing, not an economic thing. If I'd asked my father would have put me through college. If I'd chosen to be silent rather than vocal I would have passed more classes. I care more about right and wrong and enjoyment and enrichment than I do about society, economics, etc and that's what it comes down to.

I doubt if I could find employment as an admin, even if I finished my 4yr, and here's why:

1. There are many more people out there with just as much or more education and certs and far more experience.
2. Most people in general accept things as they are rather than constantly seeking change and improvement. I can not do that. That's tough on a company.
3. Many people will have FAR better scholastic and employment records than I. FAR, FAR, FAR better. I have been fired from MANY jobs because I refuse to do what is wrong when asked. I have failed many classes because I refuse to accept an inadequate system. Does it make it tough on me? Yes. Is it my choice/right? Yes.
4. Time and again this country has proven my earlier points; that intellect, creativity, independence, etc are NOT to be prized, while their opposites are. That's not me.
5. I would never alter my core values to fit employment. Hence, my family ALWAYS will come before any job. Safety will ALWAYS be more immportant than the entire corporation. I would actively seek a companies ruin if it was engaging in behavior I found offensive (ie negative environmental impact, black listing, etc)

I could go on, but you begin to see the point. It isn't that I couldn't make money, or have a "professional" job...it's that those things almost always run at odds with my values. I'm capable of doing anything, and I know it. Lawyer, doctor, engineer, you name it. I can do the work, I can learn the skills...I have the self discipline to make it. But if I hate what lawyers do, then what good is it?

I'll turn my college so far towards secondary education. It's what I've always wanted to do anyway. It earns far more than I need as a career so I'm not worried, or bitter. I'm bitter that people in general are as self-centered, greedy, ignorant, and stubborn as they are (myself included quite often). I don't WANT to be rich...I guess I just wish others didn't either, so they could concentrate on important things and help improve the world instead of their bottom lines.

 

[Zebo]

<<

<< If the economy improved(which it appears to be) and you got a good a job as a network admin making 50k/year...would you still be bitter? >>



The bitterness isn't really about not having money, I generally have enough (if just barely). The bitterness is in peoples 'attitudes' about money. The bitterness is an emotional and mental thing, not an economic thing. If I'd asked my father would have put me through college. If I'd chosen to be silent rather than vocal I would have passed more classes. I care more about right and wrong and enjoyment and enrichment than I do about society, economics, etc and that's what it comes down to.

I doubt if I could find employment as an admin, even if I finished my 4yr, and here's why:

1. There are many more people out there with just as much or more education and certs and far more experience.
2. Most people in general accept things as they are rather than constantly seeking change and improvement. I can not do that. That's tough on a company.
3. Many people will have FAR better scholastic and employment records than I. FAR, FAR, FAR better. I have been fired from MANY jobs because I refuse to do what is wrong when asked. I have failed many classes because I refuse to accept an inadequate system. Does it make it tough on me? Yes. Is it my choice/right? Yes.
4. Time and again this country has proven my earlier points; that intellect, creativity, independence, etc are NOT to be prized, while their opposites are. That's not me.
5. I would never alter my core values to fit employment. Hence, my family ALWAYS will come before any job. Safety will ALWAYS be more immportant than the entire corporation. I would actively seek a companies ruin if it was engaging in behavior I found offensive (ie negative environmental impact, black listing, etc)

I could go on, but you begin to see the point. It isn't that I couldn't make money, or have a "professional" job...it's that those things almost always run at odds with my values. I'm capable of doing anything, and I know it. Lawyer, doctor, engineer, you name it. I can do the work, I can learn the skills...I have the self discipline to make it. But if I hate what lawyers do, then what good is it?

I'll turn my college so far towards secondary education. It's what I've always wanted to do anyway. It earns far more than I need as a career so I'm not worried, or bitter. I'm bitter that people in general are as self-centered, greedy, ignorant, and stubborn as they are (myself included quite often). I don't WANT to be rich...I guess I just wish others didn't either, so they could concentrate on important things and help improve the world instead of their bottom lines. >>



POW- I only know one person who absolutly loves thier job and would do it for free if they stopped paying her and that's my mom. She's a unversity professor. It's very rare indeed to be that lucky. Face it work sucks and that's exactly why they have to pay you for it. If you don't like it well welcome to the club. You think I like being up at 6 am and not getting to bed until 3 am sometimes? But i want certain things in life and do believe I made a positive difference.. BTW- sysadmin jobs would suck imo since it's a janitor position who makes a litltle more.

Look at being a physician there you help people and could move to the intercity and still make 90K as a general. How about some type of research. My BS is in Biochem and I've never had to look the other way or kiss someones ass (except the mods here). Parmacy is another field of helping unless you think drug companies are evil bastard drug pushers like me. Your wanting to be a teacher is a good job where you can take mucho time off.. Anyway all i'm saying is your feeling sorry for yourself is pretty lame when there are lots of noble professions out there. You can PM me if you want to talk for real. Perhaps you don't understand there are grants out there for people who do well for a couple of semesters in college?

 

[PrinceofWands]

<< Look at being a physician there you help people and could move to the intercity and still make 90K as a general. How about some type of research. My BS is in Biochem and I've never had to look the other way or kiss someones ass (except the mods here). Parmacy is another field of helping unless you think drug companies are evil bastard drug pushers like me. Your wanting to be a teacher is a good job where you can take mucho time off.. Anyway all i'm saying is your feeling sorry for yourself is pretty lame when there are lots of noble professions out there. You can PM me if you want to talk for real. Perhaps you don't understand there are grants out there for people who do well for a couple of semesters in college? >>



Oh, I'm not feeling sorry really...I reread my earlier posts and I know it looks that way, but it was really just anger and dense people. I considered medicine, but again, I run into value things. I would never save the life of a bad person (rapist, abuser, etc.) nor would I ever save a drug user more than once. Can't be a doctor with that attitude. Plus, having worked in a hospital ER for a couple years, it really is a nasty environment. I agree on drug companies.

I'm really ok as I am, but I get mad at other people is all...people who have so much for doing so little and then bitch that I don't pay huge taxes like them.

Here's a breakdown:

I make about 12.50 an hour. I take home about $250.00-$300.00 a week. I have to drive 40 minutes each way to work. I take care of my daughter by myself (her mother does have her half the time, but she's a worthless piece of sh*t basically so it doesn't count). I also have to drive 45 minutes a couple times a week to help take care of my father, who is getting up there and not in great health anymore. I also am the computer tech for a few dozen people who know me and need me since they can't afford someone who charges. I also do work with many different volunteer org's (red cross, humane society, aclu, nra). I also go to school (sometimes, though not this quarter). I also continue private study and enrichment in nearly every field as I have varied interests. As a security officer I risk my life daily. I have been attacked bare-handed, with weapons, done building searches, been bled on, puked on, sh*t on, pee'd on, had to tie up old ladies and drug users and felons and loonies. I get absolutely no respect whatsoever for doing my job so well. In fact, I have been verbally assaulted by a nurse whose life I had just saved by disarming a psycho with a knife. This is my life. And yet, somehow, these snooty republican brats with mommy & daddy paid for degree's who sit on their ass all day pushing imaginary stocks around a computer screen, somehow they deserve a tax break that I don't????!!!! Nope, not happening, nu-uh.

I don't feel sorry for myself, I'm damn proud of what I do, and how well I do it. I work harder and smarter than anyone I know, and I do more for myself, my family, my friends, and complete strangers than most people could ever dream of. And do I want a lot of money and stock options? No. All I want is for people to realize that THEY are not the entire world. I want people to accept that there's more in life than money and that they should be thankful for what they do have, not complaining and trying to take away what little other people have. Quit buying worthless SUV's and start using your money to actually HELP someone else. Or make a little less and actually RAISE YOUR KIDS! No, I'm not feeling sorry for myself, I'm feeling sorry for them.

I will be a teacher some day, and I'll be a damn good one. And I'll be perfectly happy with what I make doing it. And I'll STILL know that in general most rich people have their heads buried completely up their buttz.

 

[Zebo]

<<

<< Look at being a physician there you help people and could move to the intercity and still make 90K as a general. How about some type of research. My BS is in Biochem and I've never had to look the other way or kiss someones ass (except the mods here). Parmacy is another field of helping unless you think drug companies are evil bastard drug pushers like me. Your wanting to be a teacher is a good job where you can take mucho time off.. Anyway all i'm saying is your feeling sorry for yourself is pretty lame when there are lots of noble professions out there. You can PM me if you want to talk for real. Perhaps you don't understand there are grants out there for people who do well for a couple of semesters in college? >>



Oh, I'm not feeling sorry really...I reread my earlier posts and I know it looks that way, but it was really just anger and dense people. I considered medicine, but again, I run into value things. I would never save the life of a bad person (rapist, abuser, etc.) nor would I ever save a drug user more than once. Can't be a doctor with that attitude. Plus, having worked in a hospital ER for a couple years, it really is a nasty environment. I agree on drug companies.

I'm really ok as I am, but I get mad at other people is all...people who have so much for doing so little and then bitch that I don't pay huge taxes like them.

Here's a breakdown:

I make about 12.50 an hour. I take home about $250.00-$300.00 a week. I have to drive 40 minutes each way to work. I take care of my daughter by myself (her mother does have her half the time, but she's a worthless piece of sh*t basically so it doesn't count). I also have to drive 45 minutes a couple times a week to help take care of my father, who is getting up there and not in great health anymore. I also am the computer tech for a few dozen people who know me and need me since they can't afford someone who charges. I also do work with many different volunteer org's (red cross, humane society, aclu, nra). I also go to school (sometimes, though not this quarter). I also continue private study and enrichment in nearly every field as I have varied interests. As a security officer I risk my life daily. I have been attacked bare-handed, with weapons, done building searches, been bled on, puked on, sh*t on, pee'd on, had to tie up old ladies and drug users and felons and loonies. I get absolutely no respect whatsoever for doing my job so well. In fact, I have been verbally assaulted by a nurse whose life I had just saved by disarming a psycho with a knife. This is my life. And yet, somehow, these snooty republican brats with mommy & daddy paid for degree's who sit on their ass all day pushing imaginary stocks around a computer screen, somehow they deserve a tax break that I don't????!!!! Nope, not happening, nu-uh.

I don't feel sorry for myself, I'm damn proud of what I do, and how well I do it. I work harder and smarter than anyone I know, and I do more for myself, my family, my friends, and complete strangers than most people could ever dream of. And do I want a lot of money and stock options? No. All I want is for people to realize that THEY are not the entire world. I want people to accept that there's more in life than money and that they should be thankful for what they do have, not complaining and trying to take away what little other people have. Quit buying worthless SUV's and start using your money to actually HELP someone else. Or make a little less and actually RAISE YOUR KIDS! No, I'm not feeling sorry for myself, I'm feeling sorry for them.

I will be a teacher some day, and I'll be a damn good one. And I'll be perfectly happy with what I make doing it. And I'll STILL know that in general most rich people have their heads buried completely up their buttz. >>



I see your point. And moreover I admire your honesty and forthrightness which seems to be lacking here and in society nowerdays. Most of the people I see post here have delusions that helping people is going to make them poorer when in fact it makes them richer on the whole of things. But all they count is dollars and sharing that weakens thier social and spending power over others so they think they could be wealthy if just left alone but the tax man and all those poor bastards fended for themselves. Sad we work that way but we do it's human nature comes from our animal side of evolution. So we need to make a choice. Make more or less. Your politics are irrelvent since I pointed out already you can made good dough in a noble profession..

ACLU and NRA quite a combo there since ACLU's position is one of no position. I have cards from both too.

 

[Zebo]

Welfare should be cut back. There are jobs out there for *most* people. They won't be fun, you won't be "living it up", but they are there. Fast food jumps to mind. One of my jobs is at McDonalds, and I've worked at a few, and they all need workers.

Do you realize only 7% of the entire federal budget is for the poor and education? 116 billion last year. Paltry compared to to welfare for the rich a 400 Billion and "offence" spending of 280 Billion.

 

[Chaotic42]

<< Welfare should be cut back. There are jobs out there for *most* people. They won't be fun, you won't be "living it up", but they are there. Fast food jumps to mind. One of my jobs is at McDonalds, and I've worked at a few, and they all need workers.

Do you realize only 7% of the entire federal budget is for the poor and education? 116 billion last year. Paltry compared to to welfare for the rich a 400 Billion and "offence" spending of 280 Billion. >>



Welfare is welfare. Like I said the government shouldn't be in people's lives, and it *really* shouldn't give out corporate welfare. Defence? We need defence. If we can cut out 300 of the 400 billion (pref all of it) in corporate welfare, we can give the tax payers back $150B and pump the other $150B into education.

 

[UltraQuiet]

<< make about 12.50 an hour.
I work harder and smarter than anyone I know,
Quit buying worthless SUV's and start using your money to actually HELP someone else.
It isn't that I couldn't make money, or have a "professional" job...it's that those things almost always run at odds with my values >>


Ah the rationalizing rant of a self-absorbed loser. Thanks for confirming my suspicions about you.

These are my favorites.


<< I have been fired from MANY jobs because I refuse to do what is wrong when asked. I have failed many classes because I refuse to accept an inadequate system. >>


HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Well I guess you showed them. ROFLMAO at the PrincessofWands. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

[PrinceofWands]

*feigns shock* What? Dave insulting me, without any actual discussion or explanation? What a surprise. Dave thinking people not as blind, ignorant and sheeplike as he are losers? What a surprise. Dave attempting a pitiful attack on MY character, when he isn't even human enough to develop his own, having instead to be assigned one by his governments military? What a surprise.


Gee dave, I'm sorry we can't all just do exactly what we're told and believe everything we're spoon fed by our political elite...I know it would be a wonderful world if we all just hid in our underwater tin cans rather than, oh, I dunno, opened a book and decided what was right and wrong ourselves...but, gosh you know, some of us were born with a brain and free will and choose not to subjegate it. Have fun in blind service that will leave you morally bankrupt and spiritually unevolved. By-by now. I'm sure any female companion will find plenty of emotional depth with the plethora of lovers during your 6 month deployments, so don't worry, they'll be fine. Your kids won't mind looking to pop stars and fictional figures as fathers while you're away...no worries.


You know, the only actually surprising thing, dave, would be if anybody gives a rats ass when you finally die. btw, any chance you could speed that along, I'm really growing tired of your empty words. Until you grow a brain, and an opinion not clearly defined in the UCMJ, do me a favor and go be ignorant somewhere else.

 

[Lucky]

I would like no taxes up 100K then it would get very graduated to greatly expand our heathcare and educational system where every american has free access. Wroks in Germany and Sweden.


0-100K 0%
100-250k 25%
250-500K 33%
500-1M 66%
1M+ would get hit for 75%





Socialism in the works. <sigh>.

 

[UltraQuiet]

<< without any actual discussion or explanation >>


What is there to discuss? You are a Loser. You are a 30 year old, $12/hour night security guard at a hospital. Loser. What do you have. Anything. Oh you have your morals do you. OK. Where is your kid at? At her mothers, loser? You have the same story every sterno bum on the street has <drunken slur> " I coulda been the President of IBM if I wanted to". What has all your high moral tone got you. Divorced, fired frome every job you ever had, no college degree. Yeah you've showed us all. I'm sure you know your kid and her mother call you "the loser" don't you. Yeah you have really put up the good fight against "the man". HAHAHAHAHA. I can't wait to hear why you don't become a teacher. Probably some BS about the "corrupt education system". You can rationalize your being a loser anyway you want but the fact remains that you have done absolutely nothing in your entire sorry life except tell everyone in the unemployment line how moral you are. Way to go, I'll bet your daughter is proud of dad the loser. Oh and unlike you I don't wish you dead. This society needs people like you. We need someone to point at and tell our kids "that's a loser, that's what happens when you are too lazy and stupid to finish school or hold a job". No Princess I don't wish you dead. You deserve to live the life you've made for yourself. You deserve it. I have to go now. I'm going to get in my SUV, with my two kids and my wife, go to baseball practice, then go shopping. I need some computer stuff, the wife and kids need new clothes. We can afford to do this because we made more than 4 times what you made last year. We did it serving our country and didn't compromise our morals or principles even a little bit. You can call us sheep if you wan't but you are also a sheep. You are that lone outcast sheep standing just outside the herd. You know the one that gets eaten by the wolves. Smart sheep stay in the herd where making change is possible. Stupid loser sheep stay outside the herd and get eaten. Way to go loser.

 

[wQuay]

<< Yes *and* we also get to collect off illegal immigrants >>



Good point.

 

[Michael]

Carbonyl - Can you define "welfare for the rich"? I know many, many people who decry "Corporate Handouts" and "the rich don't pay enough" that don't even come close to understanding what is really going on. For example, most "corporate welfare" is public policy that is meant to encourage investment and job creation. Accelerated depreciation is one of those items.

I personally think there is too much waste and that proper time limits are not set for some programs, but I'm really curious about what you are defining as "welfare for the rich".

PoW - I have always refused to do what is wrong my whole career. That has included facing down some very, very high level people. Funny thing is, I've never been fired. Maybe you need to work on your technique. Your last little rant does scream "loser" all over it, though. I can accept that it is possible to make a poor marriage choice and get set back. Failing multiple courses and getting fired from multiple jobs indicates to me that you're the problem, not something external to you.

Michael

 

[mithrandir2001]

I don't know if I'm spoiled, lucky or perhaps just simply prudent, but I've done quite well for myself. I'm not yet 30 (shudder) but I earn about 3/4 of 100K. I'm single without any dependents so money really shouldn't be a problem per se. I attended a large state university financed by both my parents and student loans in my name, started working for a Fortune 500 company a month after graduation, switched jobs twice and so here I am now. I write web applications using very standardized Microsoft technologies. I wouldn't necessarily consider my development knowledge to be superior or special, but I basically can take specs and make a finished application that works and delivered usually on time. I guess the secret is finding a position where you are able to fulfill and sometimes exceed your employer's expectations. I guess I'm lucky that I found a line of employment that I enjoy to a certain extent and that also pays rather well. Nothing was handed to me but I don't consider the effort I had to exert to get where I am now financially to be excessive.

But it isn't necessarily your compensation level that speaks for your financial situation. You could make 100K and be in a financial quagmire. Sometimes the more money you make, the higher the expectations are to display your affluence. Somebody must be buying all these 400K+ homes they're building in my region or else they wouldn't build them in the first place. As you've probably heard before, it's not how much you make, but how much you're worth.

You could have a career where you never reach 50K but have a strong financial picture most of your life. It comes down to personal decisions and personal responsibility. For instance, I feel a strong pressure from peers to have a fancy car because of my income level. When I bought my Accord last year, my decision was put down by some and I was asked why didn't I buy a Maxima, a CL, an A4 or, gasp, a 330i. They don't pay my bills and my Accord is expensive enough given that I have other priorities. But some people will cave in and buy the fancy car because our conspicuous consumption society thrives on flash and sizzle. I'm hardly the reserved humble type who counts his pennies but I try to guard my money against the constant barrage of spending opportunities that our capitalist system generates.

I've also lived with my parents for the past 5-1/2 years and this has allowed my to accumulate a cushion of cash that most twentysomethings could only dream of. I saw this as an opportunity that could be a financial windfall and I grabbed it. Sure, I don't necessarily want to live at home day-in day-out but I'd be a financial fool to pay apartment rent if I'm living just down the street. I could have taken a job in another city but why, when I can find a similar job here and have much lower living expenses.

I'm not here to brag but to suggest that it's worth the time to bring your financial picture in order. It's dynamic: someone could be rich then poor or poor then rich so you can't say it's the wrong time. Perhaps one of the biggest failings of the American public school system is that it teaches precious little personal financial management skills. Whether we like it or not, money affects us daily; it can make us sick, depressed or even suicidal. I seem to think that a sound financial situation is like a foundation for your life. Once you can take care of your financial responsibilities, life becomes more interesting and deep because you've taken care of your existence and now you are looking for meaning.

 

[UltraQuiet]

<< PoW - I have always refused to do what is wrong my whole career. That has included facing down some very, very high level people. Funny thing is, I've never been fired. Maybe you need to work on your technique. Your last little rant does scream "loser" all over it, though. I can accept that it is possible to make a poor marriage choice and get set back. Failing multiple courses and getting fired from multiple courses indicates to me that you're the problem, not something external to you. >>


It doesn't just scream it, it's the textbook definition.